The present disclosure relates generally to repairing of cavities disposed within silicon-based substrates. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to silicon-based patch formulations for use, for instance, with repairing of cavities within silicon-based substrates and resultant patch materials therefrom.
Silicon-based ceramic materials are currently being employed for high temperature components of gas turbine engines such as, for instance, airfoils (e.g. blades and vanes), combustor liners and shrouds. By way of example, silicon-based ceramic materials, for instance, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) may include or be fabricated of fibers reinforcing a ceramic matrix phase. CMCs may, for instance, provide a desirable combination of high temperature mechanical, physical and/or chemical properties compared to other conventional materials such as, for instance, iron, nickel and/or cobalt-based superalloys.
Although silicon-based ceramic materials exhibit desirable high temperature characteristics, such materials can suffer from rapid recession in combustion environments due to volatilization upon exposure to reactive species such as water vapor. In such cases, protective coatings, commonly referred to herein as environmental barrier coatings (EBC), are used to protect the silicon-based ceramic materials from volatilization processes.